Exodus Hymn Reflection: "Be Thou My Vision"

This reflection is from day 54 of Al's Exodus group.

Today was an interesting day. I went with my mother to watch a stage production (a "ballet" if that's the correct word) of The Little Prince, a book which, admittedly, I have never read.

One of the reasons that I don't like ballet as my favourite medium is that I never quite understand what is going on. This performance was slightly odd in that, alongside the dancing of the performers, there was a narrator who brought in operatic elements and sang certain lines. This gave me some exposure to some of the lines by the man Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. I was particularly struck by the following:

People where you live," the little prince said, "grow five thousand roses in one garden... yet they don't find what they're looking for... They don't find it," I answered. And yet what they're looking for could be found in a single rose, or a little water..." Of course," I answered. And the little prince added, "But eyes are blind. You have to look with the heart.

So often, isn't this deeply true—the idea that we are looking for something with the wrong part of ourselves? There is a certain profound notion that seeing through the eyes is blindness. For, what is blindness but a loss of sight?

Well, there are many different meanings of the word "sight", and one interpretation comes from the Idiom that one "can't judge a book by its cover"—the notion being that appearances can be deceiving and that there's more to something than meets the eye.

It's clearly evidenced by many aspects of human life that sight is perceived as the most important of all the senses; and yet, we can't over-rely on it.

But, is it actually the most important of senses? What does this actually mean? I think it's best said in the line from Corinthians:

"For we walk by faith, not by sight". - 2 Corinthians 5:7

When we say these lines, that we walk by faith and not by sight, what we mean is what I think the author of The Little Prince is getting at, and that is this: there is more to the rational.

There's more to see that can't be seen. There's more than just plain sight. There's more to existence than what we can perceive with our limited scope of sensation. I think this is one of the important things we often forget: that the spirit has a sense of its own which is far more important than the sense of the body since it is the "sense of faith"—the sense of spirituality.

We have senses of the body, but we also have the senses of the soul, and I think those are just as valid and important. To nurture, to respond to, and be aware of—they may not be as obvious to many. And they can definitely lead to our ruin if they're not trained; if we don't work on them on a daily basis and consistently level them and point them towards God.

And yet…

They are so fundamental to being able to engage with existence and the creation of the Lord; and when used correctly, they are essential to our Spiritual growth and development.

Why this specific hymn? Surely there are other hymns that reference vision and sight? So, why this hymn?

Well yes, there are other hymns; and, to be honest, the first hymn that comes to mind with the issue of sight is Amazing Grace. However, other than the fact that that hymn has been played recently, I think that the reason this hymn is appropriate for this blindness is that, rather than being about gratitude and talking about an ex-state of blindness, this prayer is about pleading the Lord to alleviate us of our current blindness.

We must ask Christ to be our vision and Lord of our hearts. We must ask Him to point us in His direction—like a boat that is being geared towards the port of its destination. Lord, Help us to join you. Help us to find a way from stormy waters to the safe harbour of Your grace.

As we grow we learn to slowly rely on senses that we develop. So too as we develop the senses of the Spirit: we understand that they are only effective when they are underpinned by the assistance of the Lord. Without this presence, we are lost at sea and unable to navigate home to him.

Let's reflect on these words handed down to us by the forefathers in the faith:

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart,

be all else but naught to me, save that thou art;

be thou my best thought in the day and the night,

both waking and sleeping, thy presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, be thou my true word,

be thou ever with me, and I with thee Lord;

be thou my great Father, and I thy true son;

be thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

Be thou my breastplate, my sword for the fight;

be thou my whole armor, be thou my true might;

be thou my soul's shelter, be thou my strong tower:

O raise thou me heavenward, great Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise:

be thou mine inheritance now and always;

be thou and thou only the first in my heart;

O Sovereign of heaven, my treasure thou art.

High King of heaven, thou heaven's bright sun,

O grant me its joys after victory is won;

great Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,

still be thou my vision, O Ruler of all.